Chapter 280: Twenty Chiefs

The deeper section of the Earth Library didn’t look like a library anymore. The stone shelves had disappeared. So had the murals. The passage opened into a gigantic natural cavern, and Arthur stopped at the edge.

The cavern stretched so far into the darkness that even Eden’s enhanced vision couldn’t see the opposite wall. Massive stone pillars supported the ceiling.

Underground rivers crossed the cavern floor, forests of pale roots grew from the walls, and several areas were covered in black volcanic rock. Others were filled with crystals that gave off a faint blue glow.

And everywhere, there were signs of Beasts. Claw marks. Broken trees. Massive footprints. Burrows. Nests. Territories.

Athena slowly looked around. "This place is enormous."

Sun stared into the darkness. "How many Chiefs do you think live here?"

Arthur looked at the scattered signs. "Enough."

A roar echoed from somewhere ahead. Then another answered. Then another.

Arthur smiled. "Let’s find out."

...

They didn’t have to search for long. The first territory belonged to a Beast that moved through the cavern’s crystal fields, and Arthur saw it before the others did, a shadow slipping between the blue crystals, fast, almost invisible.

Mithra narrowed her eyes. "Something’s moving."

"Don’t chase it," Arthur nodded.

The Beast suddenly appeared behind them, lean and feline, covered in dark silver fur that reflected the crystal light, a crescent-shaped marking glowing across its forehead. Arthur immediately touched its shoulder as it passed.

[Species: Moonstone Stalker]

[Evolution Path: Moonstone Stalker]

[Lunarhide Predator]

[Eclipse Beast King]

The Beast vanished again, and Arthur watched the crystals around them, understanding settling in. "It uses the reflections." Athena looked at him, and he pointed toward the crystal field. "It isn’t actually disappearing. It’s changing direction whenever the crystals break our line of sight."

Mithra smiled. "So we break the crystals."

"No." He looked toward another territory. "We move it."

He raised his hand, golden pillars appearing between the crystal formations.

[King’s Mark Authority — Columns of Light]

The Moonstone Stalker immediately changed direction, forced away from the crystal field. Mithra was waiting, and the moment the Beast emerged into open ground, she attacked, her blades striking its hind leg.

It twisted.

Arthur was already moving. He didn’t aim for its chest. He aimed for the front shoulder, having noticed the way the Beast’s body bent strangely before each leap.

Its rear joints carrying most of its explosive movement, its front shoulder weaker when turning. "Attack on its left!"

Mithra changed direction instantly, Vedas attacking from the opposite side. The Stalker attempted to retreat, and Arthur raised another pillar, its escape route vanishing.

Athy descended from above. "It’s going toward the river!"

Arthur smiled. "Let it."

The Beast jumped, its paws touching the water, and Arthur understood immediately. The Moonstone Stalker’s movements became slower, its advantage disappearing. Vedas drove his spear forward.

[Armor Piercing]

The attack struck the shoulder Arthur had identified, and the Beast stumbled. Mithra followed with a rapid series of slashes.

[Flash Movement]

The Stalker collapsed.

Arthur touched its body afterward, the path remaining clear in his mind. But this time he didn’t spend long thinking about its future evolutions. He thought about its body, how it moved, why it preferred the crystals, why it avoided the river. The evolution path had shown him what the Beast could become. But the Beast itself was showing him how it fought.

Arthur looked toward the cavern. There were dozens of territories, dozens of environments, and potentially dozens of Chiefs.

His eyes brightened. "We can make them fight each other."

Athena looked at him.

"They each have territory." He pointed toward the crystal field. "Some won’t tolerate other Chiefs entering." Then toward the volcanic area. "And some are naturally stronger in certain environments."

Athena slowly smiled. "You’re going to manipulate the territories."

"Exactly."

...

The next Chief lived near the volcanic section. Ash covered the ground, and heat shimmered through the air as a massive Beast emerged from the smoke, its body resembling a giant wolf, but its jaws much larger, flames burning between its teeth.

Arthur approached just enough to touch it.

[Species: Ashfang Ravager]

[Rank: Chief Beast]

[Evolution Path: Ashfang Ravager]

[Cinderhide Behemoth]

[Inferno Tyrant]

He stepped backward as the Beast roared, a wave of burning ash exploding outward, and everyone scattered. Arthur immediately noticed something. "The fire gets stronger when it stands on the black rock."

Athena nodded. "The ground is feeding it."

He looked toward the crystal territory, then toward the underground river. "Then we take it somewhere else."

The group retreated. The Ashfang Ravager chased them, and Arthur deliberately led it toward another territory. The Beast roared, and something answered, a second Chief appearing in the darkness. The Ashfang Ravager stopped. So did the other Beast.

For a moment, the two creatures stared at each other. Arthur quietly stepped backward.

Sun understood. "You’re kidding."

Arthur smiled.

The two Chiefs attacked each other, and the cavern erupted. Arthur and the others didn’t stand around watching. They waited, then attacked the Ashfang Ravager when its attention shifted. Mithra struck the rear leg.

Kong slammed into its side. Sun attacked its exposed ribs. Melo filled the area with dream mist. Eden shared her vision with everyone.

The Ashfang Ravager attempted to retreat toward the volcanic ground, and Arthur blocked it with Columns of Light. "Don’t let it reach the rocks."

Vedas understood immediately and charged.

[Blazing Spear]

His spear pierced through the Beast’s weakened side, and the Ashfang Ravager collapsed. Arthur touched it after the battle. Cinderhide Behemoth. Inferno Tyrant. He memorized the path, then looked toward the next territory.

...

The third Chief controlled the sky. A deep rumble echoed through the cavern, and everyone looked upward as a massive blue-winged Beast descended from the darkness, its scales deep blue, electricity crawling across its wings, the air itself seeming to vibrate.

Arthur touched one of its scales as it swept past.

[Species: Bluecrest Wyvern]

[Rank: Chief Beast]

[Evolution Path: Bluecrest Wyvern]

[Azurewing Dragon]

[Celestial Storm Drake]

Lightning exploded, and Arthur jumped backward, the bolt striking the ground where he had been standing. He looked upward. "Don’t fight it in the open."

Athy nodded. "I can draw it lower." She flew upward, and the Wyvern chased her.

Arthur watched carefully. The Beast’s wings moved differently when it prepared to dive, its right wing dipping first, its neck lowering, its claws opening.

There. That was the moment.

"Now!"

Athy pulled away, and the Wyvern dove. Arthur raised his hand, Columns of Light erupting from the cavern floor, and the Beast had nowhere to turn, its wing striking one of the pillars.

CRACK!

It lost balance. Mithra flashed forward, her blades cutting across the exposed wing joint, and the Wyvern roared, lightning erupting. Melo’s dream mist disrupted its senses, and Eden shared the trajectory. "Three seconds!"

Sun immediately moved.

[Point Shockwave]

The attack struck the Beast’s chest. Kong jumped, his fist crashing into its head, and the Wyvern dropped. Vedas finished it with a golden spear thrust.

BOOM!

The blue-scaled Chief fell into the cavern. Arthur approached the corpse and touched it, another evolution path entering his mind. But his attention remained on the joints, the wing, the neck, the dive, the way it shifted its weight before releasing lightning.

Arthur slowly smiled. He was starting to see something.

Evolution Path Vision had always shown him possibilities. But possibilities weren’t enough. A Beast couldn’t become its future evolution today. It had to survive today first, and survival depended on understanding the creature standing in front of him.

...

The fourth Chief was different. The cavern changed completely. The ground became covered in thick roots, trees growing from the stone, their branches intertwined until they formed a massive underground forest.

Arthur touched one of the enormous creatures moving between them.

[Species: Thornback Devourer]

[Rank: Chief Beast]

[Evolution Path: Thornback Devourer]

[Ironthorn Behemoth]

[Worldroot Tyrant]

[Evolution Paths Analyzed: 57 → 61]

[Evolution Paths Discovered: 67 → 71]

The Beast’s back was covered in long thorns, and Arthur watched it disappear into the forest. "Don’t chase it."

Sun sighed. "I already know what you’re going to say."

He pointed toward the roots. "We make it chase us."

The group moved, and the Thornback Devourer followed, fast, much faster than its size suggested, its thorns tearing through trees as it charged. Arthur watched. The creature wasn’t simply using the forest. It was connected to it, roots moving beneath its feet, branches bending away from it. Every time it attacked, the forest seemed to help.

His eyes narrowed. "Cut the roots."

Mithra immediately moved, her blades slicing through the thick roots surrounding the Beast. It roared, and the forest stopped helping it, its movement becoming clumsy.

Arthur understood. "It doesn’t control the forest."

Athena looked at him. "It uses the existing root network."

"Exactly."

He raised his hand, Columns of Light appearing between the trees, and the Beast was forced into a narrow path. Kong charged, his fist slamming into its side.

Sun followed.

Mithra attacked its legs. Athy provided aerial vision through the canopy. Melo’s mist disrupted the Beast whenever it attempted to escape. Eden’s shared vision let everyone anticipate its movements.

The Thornback Devourer fought desperately, its body covered in heavy armor. But Arthur wasn’t attacking the armor. He was attacking everything beneath it. "Vedas!"

The Goblin King understood and charged.

[Armor Piercing]

His spear struck between two plates, and the Beast screamed. Arthur followed with Guardian Strike, golden light exploding across its exposed chest, and the Thornback Devourer crashed into the roots.

It didn’t move again.

Arthur approached and placed his hand on the corpse. The evolution path appeared. Thornback Devourer → Ironthorn Behemoth → Worldroot Tyrant. He stared at the information, then looked at the forest.

Four Chiefs. Four completely different environments. Crystal. Volcanic rock. Sky. Roots. And four completely different bodies.

He understood something. His Evolution Path Vision wasn’t merely a way to discover powerful future forms. It gave him a framework. The first stage told him what the Beast was. The evolution path showed him what it could become.

But everything between those two points, that was something he had to learn himself.

Athena walked toward him. "You’re not just looking at their evolution paths anymore." She smiled. "You’re studying the Beasts."

He looked at the four defeated Chiefs. "I’m trying to understand them."

Her smile widened. "That’s a significant difference."

Arthur nodded, looking deeper into the cavern. There were more territories, more roars, more footprints, more Chiefs. He could already see how to use the environment. A river here. A narrow passage there. A territory boundary. A natural weakness. A Chief that hated another Chief.

They didn’t need to fight every Beast fairly. They only needed to understand the battlefield better than the Beasts did.

Arthur raised his spear. "Let’s keep hunting."

Vedas grinned. Mithra rolled her shoulders. Kong slammed his fists together. Athy took to the air. Melo’s tails swayed.

Sun sighed. "I knew this was going to turn into a massacre."

Arthur looked toward the darkness. "Not a massacre."

A distant roar echoed. Then another.

Arthur smiled.

"A hunt."

Far ahead, several pairs of eyes opened in the darkness. The Chief Beasts had noticed the intruders.

And Arthur had just learned how to hunt them.